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Iraq

February 16, 2026

Baghdad 9:54 pm

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Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki delivers a speech during a campaign rally for the State of Law Coalition ahead of the country's parliamentary elections in Baghdad on Nov. 7, 2025.

Analysis

Can Maliki overcome Trump opposition to reclaim Iraq’s PM post?

US President Donald Trump’s opposition to the former prime minister and reports of potential retribution toward Iraq are receiving pushback in the country, which is already suffering from political paralysis.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

SDF commander in chief, Mazlum Kobane, meets with Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on Feb. 5, 2026.

Exclusive

100 non-Syrian Kurds return to PKK’s Qandil stronghold under SDF-Damascus deal

The transfer of non-Syrian PKK fighters to Iraq’s Qandil Mountains follows a US-brokered SDF-Damascus deal aimed at easing tensions and preserving Kurdish forces under national army oversight.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during a press conference on May 11, 2011, at the green zone area in Baghdad, Iraq.

Iraq’s Maliki rejects Trump criticism, vows to stay in PM race

Maliki refused to withdraw from the race, despite mounting pressure from the US, and expressed a desire for good relations with Iraq’s neighbors and Washington.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.

How US-India trade deal could impact Mideast energy, trade routes

The United States and India struck a trade agreement on Monday that eases months of tension between the two countries and could influence Gulf oil flows and economic integration.

Latest News

Iraq's Shiite bloc holds talks with Kurds as deadlock on president, PM persists

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani meets the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, in Erbil on Monday.

Iraqi militias claim volunteers readying to defend Iran from US: What to know

Men sign up to join the "martyrdom brigades" under the umbrella of Iraq's pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataib Hezbollah), who called upon Iraqis to volunteer in fighting alongside Iran in the event of a full-scale war with the US and Israel, at a mosque in Baghdad on January 29, 2026. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

After Trump’s rebuke, can Maliki rebound in Iraq, or does Sudani become favorite?

(L to R) Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid; Qais al-Khazali, head of the "Asaib Ahl al-Haq"; one of the member factions of the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) paramilitaries; Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani; and former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki attend an event commemorating the 21st anniversary of the group's creation at a hotel in Baghdad on May 3, 2024.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

‘Very bad choice’: Trump threatens to cut Iraq aid if Maliki returns as PM

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki leaves after casting his ballot at a polling station in Baghdad on Nov. 11, 2025 during Iraq's parliamentary elections.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Suadad al-Salhy

In Baghdad, reporting on politics and security

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

Winthrop Rodgers

In Sulaymaniyah, reporting on Kurdish issues

French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) tours the Our Lady of the Hour Church in Iraq's second city of Mosul, in the northern Nineveh province, on Aug. 29, 2021.

Macron visits Erbil and Mosul, vows to stay the course against IS

The French president visited the northern Iraqi city where an Islamic State ‘caliphate’ was declared in 2014, pledging to continue supporting Iraq in its fight against terrorism.

Sadr backers march

Muqtada al-Sadr reverses decision to stay out of Iraqi elections

After his withdrawal from October elections due to public anger against the ministers of health and electricity — both loyal Sadrist officials — the head of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, decides to participate in the vote after all.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi leaves Downing Street after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Oct. 22, 2020 in London, England.

Baghdad Conference showcases Iraq's new role as mediator in region

Iraq is hosting a regional conference, bringing Iraqi neighboring countries together to support Iraq ahead of early elections.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria celebrates Taliban's declared "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan"

Are Syrian jihadis ready to take the fight to Afghanistan?

Afghanistan revives terror challenges for Washington; Russia anticipates security vacuum; Erdogan senses an opportunity.

Aug. 27 march backing Sadr

Iraq's Muqtada al-Sadr announces support for elections

Sadr's announcement comes a month after he called on his supporters to boycott the October elections.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Iran's new foreign minister visits Baghdad for regional summit

The summit is the latest effort by Iraq to reduce tensions between Iran and its Sunni Arab neighbors.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi looks on as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks briefly to the press outside of her office at the US Capitol on July 28, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Baghdad holds national dialogue in runup to regional conference

Leaders of popular protests and other social movements gathered for a national conference sponsored by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Baghdad to discuss Iraq's outstanding issues and the early elections scheduled for October.

Iraqi Shiite Muslim pilgrims who began their march from the southern port city of al-Faw walk through Basra on their way to the holy city of Karbala ahead of the Arbaeen religious festival on Sept. 17, 2020.

Iraq under pressure to open borders for Shiite pilgrims despite pandemic

While the Iraqi government attempts to prevent the spread of the delta variant from Iran, there is internal and external pressure to open its borders for Shiite pilgrims to visit the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf.

A member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) carries an automatic rifle on a road in the Qandil Mountains, the PKK headquarters in northern Iraq, on June 22, 2018.

Turkey strikes PKK targets in Iraq's Kurdistan region

Turkey has bombed suspected hideouts of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in Iraqi Kurdistan, reportedly destroying ammunition depots, caves and other hideouts.

Migrants are seen through a fence as they stand and sit by tents in a camp near the border town of Kapciamiestis, Lithuania, July 18, 2021.

Displaced Iraqis caught in middle of EU-Belarus tensions

The Iraqi government is helping its displaced citizens stuck in Eastern Europe to return to Iraq.

Iraq drought

Water crisis puts 12 million at risk in Syria, Iraq, aid groups say

Higher temperatures, drought and record low rainfall levels are depriving millions of people of drinking and agricultural water.

Firat News

Turkish airstrikes claim Yazidi lives in Iraq’s Sinjar

Turkish airstrikes hit makeshift hospital in the predominantly Yazidi Sinjar region of Iraq on Tuesday.